2010 ACC Preview – Part 1
August 2nd, 2010 by Jeremy Shory
Boston College
Returning starters: Offense: 8, Defense: 7, Punter/Kicker: 1
Team Breakdown
Quarterback – Boston College will enter the fall with a quarterback controversy despite the return of last season’s starter. 26-year old sophomore Dave Shinskie was out played by sophomore Michael Marscovetra in the spring game. A pair of true freshman who participated in spring practice are also in the mix. I predict Shinskie will emerge the starter based on his experience, but watch for him to be on a short leash and possibly benched at times for motivation purposes.
Running Back – Montel Harris was a pleasant surprise last year as he ripped off 1,457 rushing yards and he topped the 100-yard mark in each of his last five games. With the QB questions on this team, I expect second year head coach Spaziani to focus more on the run game. This is especially true since they lost star WR Rich Gunnell. My prediction is that Montel Harris will once again carry the team and end up with close to 1,500 yards.
Wide Receiver – Colin Larmond Jr is the top returner this year, which isn’t saying much. With the graduation of Rich Gunnell, who had three times as many catches as any other WR on this team, I expect rough going this year. Add in the possible controversies from the QB department and I just don’t feel that great about the air game.
Tight End – Lars Anderson is the starting TE, but only caught eight passes last year.Defense – 2008 Defensive Player of the Year LB Mark Herzlich returns after a year off for his fight with cancer. He has said he is looking to come back with a vengeance. Throw in how well LB Luke Kuechly played last year and this team could have the best LB pair in the nation. Factor in the talent in the secondary with FS Wes Davis and CB DeLeon Gause and this team should be as equally good as they were last year if not better. That type of performance is just about enough to compete for the top spot in the ACC Coastal.
Kicker/Special Teams – Greg Abilheira inherits the kicking duties from Aponovicious who was 97% accuracy last year. Abilheira was 1 for 1 on PATs but hasn’t attempted a field goal in a game situation. He’s got a strong leg, but I always shy away from first time kickers as it usually takes them the first half of the season to learn how to handle the pressure.
Schedule – Boston College should breeze through their first two opponents, but then they start an unbearable stretch hosting Virginia Tech and Notre Damn and then away games at NC State and FSU, both of which have very explosive offenses. They end the season as easily as they start with ACC cupcakes Wake Forest, Duke, and Virginia. The middle stretch may be too tough to overcome though.
Clemson
Returning starters: Offense: 7, Defense: 6, Punter/Kicker: 2
Team Breakdown
Quarterback – Kyle Parker, who guided the Tigers to the 2009 ACC title game, decided not to sign a pro baseball contract with the Colorado Rockies who took him with the 26th pick in the 2010 MLB draft. He could still be using this as leverage to get a higher signing bonus from the Rockies, but who knows at this point. He returns with a year of experience under his belt but he’s lost his top three targets in CJ Spiller, Jacoby Ford, and TE Michael Palmer. Depth behind him is an issue as backup Willie Korn transferred out which leaves true freshman and untested Tahj Boyd. I expect that Parker will put up less gaudy numbers at first while the offense relies more on the run game. This will give him time to figure out who is going to catch the ball. He’ll come on strong near the end, just in time for Fantasy playoffs.
Running Back – Clemson will replace C.J. Spiller with a Spiller-like speedster in Andre Ellington (he averaged 7.2 yards a carry in ’09) and the powerfully-built Jamie Harper (5-11, 235 and more of a combination of strength and speed). Watch for this to be second coming of thunder and lightening for the Tigers ala when they had James Davis and Spiller in the backfield in 2008. I expect the carries to be split based on the situation, so Ellington may end the season with more yards, but Harper may get more TDs, especially near the goal line.
Wide Receiver – With Jacoby Ford’s graduation, Clemson is looking for a new go-to player. HC Swinney liked what he saw from his WR group, as Xavier Dye and Terrence Ashe both had productive springs. Brandon Clear was one of the most improved players on the roster and will be given a chance to make some plays this summer. However, I predict this group will struggle through the season as none is really worthy of being a true #1.
Tight End – Michael Palmer has graduated which leaves Durrell Barry as the next TE with the most experience. How much experience do you ask? How about 1 catch for 2 yards? At least it went for a score. That just shows you how much Kyle Parker considered Palmer as his guy. Barry is a big TE and should see some decent matchups in the end zone, but I have a feeling that we’ll see more scores in the red zone scored by the RBs.
Defense –Shut down corners Crezdon Butler and Chris Chancellor have graduated which leaves superstar FS DeAndre McDaniel to man the backfield. He’s a man among boys and should only improve on his draft stock this year. DE Da’Quan Bowers and DT Jarvis Jenkins show that this team still has a stout D line that will eat up space. The LB group leaves much to be desired, but there still is talent. Overall, this group will prove to be one of the top defenses in the ACC.
Kicker/Special Teams – Richard Jackson was 95% accurate on PATs but only 65% accurate on Field Goals. I don’t expect a whole lot to change as Jackson is not the most accurate kicker. Watch for Spencer Benton to work his way in of Jackson struggles early. I expect similar stats this year as both kickers will struggle, especially if the offense struggles to move the ball closer to the sticks as neither have a super powerful leg.
Schedule – Clemson’s non-conference schedule should be just about as easy as Boston College with home games versus North Texas and Presbyterian. They face some stiff SEC competition versus South Carolina at home and at Auburn early in the season. The conference schedule, however, is quite a bit tougher as they play host to Georgia Tech, Miami, and NC State and they have to travel to Florida State and Boston College. Seven home games and only five away games will allow Dabo to have an extra element to his first full season; home field advantage.
Duke
Returning starters: Offense: 9, Defense: 6, Kicker/Punter: 2
Team Breakdown
Quarterback – Untested Sean Renfree, who did not play in the spring, is expected to take over the reigns of this pass-heavy offense. Coach David Cutcliff swears by this kid and thinks he could be even better in his system than Thaddeus Lewis. Only time will tell. Word is that he has healed from his ACL surgery and will be full go in training camp. I expect some surprising numbers for Renfree just based on his supporting cast. Look to Thaddeus Lewis’ numbers from last year to see my expectations for this year.
Running Back – Duke may have the most underrated running back in the league. True freshman Joshua Snead, a three-star prospect, enrolled early and turned nine carries into 99 yards in the spring game. Look for Snead to emerge as the Blue Devils’ main ball carrier. He’s a compact, explosive player who came physically prepared to play. He had a handful of runs of 50 or more yards in scrimmages throughout the spring that showed he can be a contributor. I expect a surprise year for Snead as most defenses will be defending the pass. I look for him to come close to 1,000 yards.
Wide Receiver – Duke, didn’t lose anyone and returns the most productive group of pass catchers in the league. Three receivers who had 50 catches are back, including junior Donovan Varner with his 1,047 receiving yards. Only Georgia Tech’s first-round pick Demaryius Thomas (1,154) had more. Conner Vernon had 746 receiving yards as a true freshman last season and rising senior Austin Kelly added 625 more.
Tight End – TE Brett Huffman is the solid starter for this group. He had a decent season as a junior last year with 18 grabs. I expect about the same amount of production this year, but watch out because he could become a security blanket for Renfree in the red zone.
Defense – Duke lost an immense amount of talent on the defensive side this offseason. They said goodbye to DE Ayanga Okpokowuruk, DT Vince Oghobaase, LB Vincent Rey who were the nucleus for this D. DE Patrick Egboh is the man on the line now and he has some large shoes to fill. The defense did not fare too well during the spring as Coach David Cutcliff stated “…they did not look very tough out there.” I think Duke will continue to rely on their offense to outscore their defense. Stay away is my suggestion.
Kicker/Special Teams – Duke has a solid, young kicker in Will Snyderwine. He had an 85% field goal accuracy and 100% extra point accuracy. The only issue here is that the opportunities were not as frequent as it was for other teams in 2009 as he only was able to attempt 20 Field Goals. Watch for more of the same as Duke breaks in a new QB.
Schedule – Duke is turning the corner under David Cutcliffe’s control. However, the schedule this season is an absolute bear. They host defending National Champion Alabama at home on Sept 19 and closes with Georgia Tech and UNC. I don’t see Duke breaking .500 this year as they are have too many questions to answer and not enough time to do it.
Florida State
Returning starters: Offense: 10, Defense: 6, Punter/Kicker: 2
Team Breakdown
Quarterback – Christian Ponder ranked among the nation’s elite passers before suffering a season-ending shoulder injury versus Clemson. Ponder was averaging more than 300 passing yards a game and had more than twice as many touchdown passes as interceptions. He has returned for his senior year in an attempt to go out with a bang which is evidenced by the Heisman campaign that has been created. He has lofty expectations from everyone, including himself, so let’s see if he can live up to them.
Running Back – The Seminoles return a proven runner in junior Jermaine Thomas (832 yards, 5.1 yards per carry) and appear to have added more depth. Despite the return of Thomas, five other players (Ty Jones, Tavares Pressley, Lonnie Pryor, Debrale Smiley and Chris Thompson) took turns taking carries with the first team this spring. More than likely, it will be a running-back-by-committee with better options for different situations. I expect some high numbers for FSU’s overall run game this year, but not by a single RB. Be careful in drafting a RB from FSU as the carries will probably be in the low teens for most ball carriers.
Wide Receiver – The Seminoles did lose their most productive receiver in Rod Owens (team-high 61 catches and 721 yards), but they have a speedster in Bert Reed. FSU returns arguably its three most talented receivers in juniors Bert Reed (11.8 yards per catch), Jarmon Fortson (13.5 yards per catch) and Taiwan Easterling (12.6 receiving yards per catch). Reed is probably the fastest of the group and Fortson has the size and athleticism to possibly make an early jump to the NFL. Easterling is probably the most consistent of the bunch but he spent the spring playing baseball for Mike Martin, so there will be some rust. I expect all three to have monster seasons compared to their last two years as Ponder will look to them early and often.
Tight End – Junior tight end Beau Reliford (6-6, 253 pounds), who started the final seven game last season, appears ready for a breakthrough season after adding 20 pounds this offseason. Jimbo Fisher said he wanted to use his TE more last season and he did expect the trend to continue.
Defense – The defensive overhaul has been all anyone can talk about when they mention FSU. With the infusion of new, young, and energetic coaches, this defense has put together a more zone-based scheme that fits the players they have better then the man coverage cover-2 schemes that were used by Mickey Andrews. I expect vast improvement from this team as the ceiling is high. They are young and have serious potential with stars like Greg Reid, Kendall Smith and Nigel Bradham returning. I predict that the FSU defense will end up in the top 4 in the ACC overall defense by season’s end. This will be a buy low and sell high Defense by mid-season.
Kicker/Special Teams – True Sophomore Dustin Hopkins returns from a solid freshman year. He was 90% accurate on PATS and 70 % on Field Goals. The thing that sticks out about Hopkins is the amount of attempts he has to score points. He had 44 extra point attempts and 27 field goals which practically led the ACC in attempts. Special Teams coach Eddie Gran has said that he has seen improvement in Hopkins accuracy already with only working with him for 5 months. I think Hopkins will finish in the top 3 in the ACC by season’s end.
Schedule – Florida State has one of toughest non-conference schedules in the ACC with home games against BYU and the Florida Gators. Add in a trip to Norman to face Oklahoma and it’s enough to make you cry. They do get to host the division foes at home in Clemson and Boston College. Throw in a trip by the Tar Heels down to Tallahassee and I think FSU has the toughest schedule in the ACC.
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